Inflatable swimming supports

ABSTRACT

An inflatable swimming support for the upper arm consisting, in the uninflated condition, of two superimposed cylindrical annular parts connected along their edges, made of a flexible water-and air-tight material, wherein a part of the circumference which rests on the inside of the upper arm when the ring is fitted is formed as a non-inflatable surface, and the diameter of the uninflated swimming support, the circumference of which is about double its length in the uninflated state, is about twice as large as the mean diameter of the upper arm of a person for whom the swimming support is intended while, in the longitudinal direction of the upper arm, the width of the swimming support corresponds substantially to the length of the upper arm between the armpit and elbow bend of the person. The two parts of the swimming support are connected in the zone opposite the noninflatable surface along a line which divides the inflatable portion of the swimming support into two substantially equal inflatable chambers, each chamber being adapted to be inflated through a nipple which is closable by means of a removable plug.

United States Patent [1 1 Markwitz INFLATABLE SWIMMING SUPPORTS [76]Inventor: Bernhard Markwitz, Brodersweb 9/10, Hamburg, Germany [22]Filed: Nov. 15, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 198,561

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 19, 1971 Germany P 21 07979.8

[52] US. Cl. 9/344 [51] Int. Cl. B63c 9/16 [58] Field of Search 9/344,340, 342, 9/329, 337, 333

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,296,636 1/1967 Markwitz9/340 2,292,150 8/1942 Murray 9/340 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS29,680 4/1919 Norway 9/340 Primary ExaminerMilton BuchlerAssistantExaminew-Paul E. Sauberer Attorney-Townsend F. Beaman et a].

[451 Dec. 4, 1973 [5 7 ABSTRACT An-inflatable swimming support for theupper arm consisting, in the uninflated condition, of two superimposedcylindrical annular parts connected along their edges, made of aflexible water-and air-tight material, wherein a part of thecircumference which rests on the inside of the upper arm when the ringis fitted is formed as a non-inflatable surface, and the diameter of theuninflated swimming support, the circumference of which is about doubleits length in the uninflated state, is about twice as large as the meandiameter of the upper arm of a person for whom the swimming support isintended while, in the longitudinal direction of the upper arm, thewidth of the swimming support corresponds substantially to the length ofthe upper arm between the armpit and elbow bend of the person. The twoparts of the swimming support are connected in the zone opposite thenoninflatable surface along a line which divides the inflatable portionof the swimming support into two substantially equal inflatablechambers, each chamber being adapted to be inflated through a nipplewhich is closable by means of a removable plug.

1 Claim, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEU UEE 4 i975 SHEET 10F 2 .PATENTEDHEB4 m5 SHEET 2 BF 2 iii? . 1 INFLATABLE SWIMMING SUPPORTS BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION This invention relates to a swimming support for the upperarm. 7

An inflatableswimming support for theupper arm is already knownwhich canbe fitted in the uninflated state freely over the upper arm and whichconsists in the uninflated condition of two superimposed cylindricalannular parts, connected along their edges, made of flexible, water andairtight plastic foil, whereina part of the circumference which rests onthe inside of the upper arm when the ring is fitted, is formed as a flatnon-inflatable surface, and the diameter of the uninflated swimmingsupport, the circumference of which is about double its. length in thenoninflated state, is

about twice as large as the mean diameter of the upper arm of the personfor whom the swimming support is intended, while in the direction of thelongitudinal extent of the upper arm, the width of this swimming supportcorresponds substantially to the length of the upper arm between the armpit and the elbow bend.

In the inflated state, the noninflatable surface of this upper armswimming support rests on the inside of the upper arm of the swimmer,along which pass both the main vein and the main-artery side bysidewhich secure the blood circulation for the arm. The noninflatablesurface preventsthe blood circulation from being impaired, so that thisknown upper arm swimming support can be worn inflated for longerperiods. On the other hand, the large diameter of the cylindricalannular parts ensures a sufficiently large volume on the upper arm ofthe swimmer. The foil of which the inflatable upper arm swimming supportis made may be regarded as practically nonelastic. During the inflationof the swimming support, the outer annular part expands outwardly, andthe inner annular part inwardly, while simultaneously the width of theswimming support, measured in the direction of the length of the upperarm, is reduced in the regions where the outer annular part expandsoutwardly, and the inner annular part inwardly. In view of the largediameter of the two annular parts in the uninflated state of thesupport, the inner annular part is pressed against the upper arm onlywith comparatively small pressure. The flat, noninflatable surface ofthe swimming support prevents the accidental rolling off of the inflatedswimming support from the upper arm, even with comparatively lowpressures.

Owing to the noninflatable surface, the inflated upper arm swimmingsupport isvpositioned obliquely on the upper arm. However, since theinner annular part expands inwardly, a particularly large-shrinkage foldis formed. Between this particularly large shrinkage fold and thenoninflatable surface, further shrinkage folds form according to thespecific conditions. Generally, however, the inflated upper arm swimmingsupport forms between the noninflated surface and the just mentionedfacing shrinkage fold two inflated cushions between which a freespace-with substantially triangular cross-section forms on the side ofthe uninflated sur-' face. The base of this triangle is formed by thenoninflatable surface, while the sides of the triangle are formed by themore or less differently curved inner part of the ring.

, The upper arm of the swimmer is positioned between these two cushions,namely generally in such a way that the upper arm is more on the side ofthe noninflatable surface in consequence of the fact that also here anuninflated space of substantially triangular cross-section exists.However, even if the inner surface of the upper arm of the swimmer ismore or less remote from the noninflatable surface, an inflated airfilled chamber is tion, the same volumes of the swimmer are submerged inthe water on both sides of the longitudinal center axis, so that theswimmer is not affected by any momenttending to displace him from this'center position.

The fact that in this center position a part of each of the two swimmingsupports located on one upper arm projects from the water, render theswimmer automatically stable about his center axis. If, for example, theswimmer is more deeply submerged on his right side, the hithertoprojecting volume of the rightupper arm swimming support is submerged.This produces a corresponding additional buoyancy on the right upper armof the swimmer. This buoyancy now counteracts the dip of the swimmertowards the right. During this dipping, the left inflated upper armswimming support is more or less lifted out of the water, so that thebuoyancy acting on the left upper arm has been correspondinglydecreased. When now the buoyancy acting on the right upper arm starts tocounteract the dip, the left upper arm swimming'support quicklysubmerges in the water and brakes the returning movement. This isrepeated continuously on the left 'and on the right upper arm, so thatthe position of the swimmer is automatically stabilised about hislongitudinal axis.

This slanting configuration of the upper arm swimming supports alsoenables them to make small rotational movements about the axis of theupper arm of the swimmer under the action of his upper arm movements andthe forces exerted by the water, but in principle, the above describedposition on the upper arm is maintained.

Also with a purely static investigation of the additional volumeprovided by these two upper arm swimming supports, it is apparent thatthis additional volume acts at the most favourable point near theswimmers head, without impairing the breathing and head movements of theswimmer.

In consequence of the substantial, particularly practical advantages ofthis known swimming support, the latter is used very extensively bypersons, and particularly by children, who are unable to swim or canswim only insufficiently. Furthermore, the advantage of the swimmingsupport also enable a large number of swimming pupils to be supervisedby a single person, if all these pupils wear such swimming supports forlearning to swim. However, as with all other inflatable swimming aids,air can escape from the swimming support, owing to unforeseeableaccidents. For example,'the inflating nipple can be opened accidentallyor intentionally, and air can be allowed to escape. Also damage to theswimming support must be envisaged as a possible, although very rareoccurrence.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention has the object of providing aninflatable swimming support of the type hereinbefore described, whichhas all the advantages mentioned above,

but in which the risk of air escaping has been substantially' reduced oreven completely eliminated.

According to the invention, this object is realized in that the twoannular parts of the swimming support are connected with each other inthe zone opposite the non-inflatable surface along a line which dividesthe inflatable part of the swimming support into two substantially equalparts, each of which is inflatable through a nipple, adapted to beclosed by a plug.

Swimming supports, and more particularly upper arm swimming supports,with separate and separately inflatable chambers, are known. However,the invention is based on the specific features and properties of theinflatable upper arm swimming supports, which have, after inflation, onthe side opposite the non-inflatable surface, a deep shrinkage fold,along which theouter and inner annular parts may potentially make slightcontact after the inflation, by both parts bulging in the shape of asaddle inwardly in the region of this fold, as viewed in the directionof the axis of the upper arm. Immediately adjacent this longitudinalfold, the annular parts curve, the outer towards the outside and theinner towards the inside. in this manner, the known inflatable upper armswimming support forms a large standby buoyancy volume on the sideopposite the noninflatable surface of the upper arm swimming support.

This large standbybuoyancy volume on the outside of the upper arm isnecessary for securing the property of the swimming support ofautomatically stabilizing the position of the swimmer about hislongitudinal axis.

Starting with this property of the swimming support, the two parts ofthe support are connected at this point along a line. The separatechambers formed in the upper arm swimming support are each equipped withan inflating nipple. The volume of the inflated upper arm swimmingsupporthas not thereby been reduced and the standby buoyancy volumeprojecting from the water with the swimmer in the center position hasnot been reduced. All decisive features of the known upper arm swimmingsupport have been maintained. However, the. total volume of the swimmingsupport has been divided into two partsby this line, and these partshave to meet only the condition that they should have substantially thesame size.

lf now one of the parts is emptied for any reason, i.e., it loses itsbuoyancy, half the total buoyancy volume acting on the upper arm ismaintained. The inflated half ensures, in conjunction with thenoninflatable surface a sufficient mounting of the partly failed upperarm swimming support on the swimmers upper arm so that the swimmercontinues to be statically and dynamically supported by this reducedupper arm support, even if he does not swim well. This conditioncontributes to prevent panic of the learner in thecase of partialfailure of the inflatable upper arm swimming support constructedaccording to the invention.

While the non-inflatable surface is formed with a fairly large surfacein the direction of the circumference of the support, in order toprevent reliably the main blood vessels on the inside of the upper arm(main vein and main artery) from being affected by pressure which mightaffect the circulation, the additional connection of the two partsaccording to the invention must, on the one hand, be opposite thenoninflatable surface, and on the other hand, be substantially in theform of a line. This line connection is located at a point, where anon-inflated line portion occurs anyway, owing to the shrinking of theinner annular part, so that the line'connection according to theinvention cannot adversely affect the favourable properties of the knownupper arm swimming support, while providing the additional advantagesjust described.

The object of the invention is further improved in that, as known, thelength of the uninflated swimming support for children in about'230 mm,for adults with normal upper arm about 250 mm and for adults with welldeveloped or with clothedupper arm about 280 mm, while the width of theuninflated upper arm swimming sup port, measured along the length of theupper arm is about 150 mm.

With these dimensions, particularly good results are obtained for thebuoyancy acting on the upper arm,

andfor the standby buoyancy on its outside, combined with veryadvantageous conditions for the free movement of the upper arm equippedwith the inflated upper arm swimming support.

The invention is further improved in that the width of the upper armswimming support is reduced in the direction of the length of the upperarm in the region of the non-inflatable surface, wherein the reducedwidth is arranged symmetrically relative to the remaining width of theswimming support.

As may be seen from the preceding statement, the object according to theinvention is made preferablyin different sizes.

Preferably, the width of the non-inflatable surface is reduced the more,the smaller is the upper arm for which the swimming support is intended.Thus, children can be provided with an upper arm swimming support, thewidth of which, in the direction of the length of the upper arm, isequal to the width of the swimming support for adults, merely byreducing the noninflatable area located between the arm pit and theelbow bend.

With the swimming support according to the invention, it is recommendedto make the non-inflatable surface comparatively long, as viewed in thedirection of the circumference. This results in a definite restrictionon the other side of the upper arm swimming support in which the lineconnection between the two parts of the support is located.'

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, with a length of theswimming support of about 230 mm, the non-inflatable surface has alength of about 50 mm and a width of about mm, while with a length of250 mm, the non-inflatable surface has a length of about 85 mm and awidth of about mm, and finally, with a length of the non-inflatedswimming support of 280 mm, the non-inflatable surface has a length of85 mm and a width of mm.

For embodiments of the invention, plastic foils are particularlysuitable with a thickness of 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm. Such foils aremechanically sufficiently strong, and are also sufficiently flexible forpurposes of the invention. Particularly suitable are plastics which canbe welded by HF techniques, i.e., foils of soft polyvinyl chloride(PVC). Polyolefine foils, e.g., of polethylene or polypropylene may alsobe used, but these foils can be welded only by the application of heat,and this is less advantageous for the execution of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION or Tl-IE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinalcross-section of one embodi-' ment of an upper arm swimming support inaccordance with the invention, in the region of the two inflatingnipples, in the non-inflated state;

FIG. 2 is a view of the upper arm swimming support of FIG. 1, in thenon-inflated state; FIG. 3 is a view of the upper arm swimming supportof FIGS. 1 and 2 in the inflated condition, viewed in the direction ofthe longitudinal extent of the upper arm but without the upper arm; theswimming support being shown in cross-section in the left half and-inside elevation in the right half of this Figure;

FIG. 4 is a view of the upper arm swimming support of FIGS. 1 to '3, inthe inflated state, but without the upper arm;

FIG. 4a is'a cross-section along the line IValVa of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4b is a view of the swimming support of FIG. 4, seen in thedirection of the arrow lVb;

FIG. 5 is a view of an upper arm swimming support in accordance with theinvention, corresponding to FIG. 2, but drawn to the scale of 1:2 forsize 0, intended for children;

FIG. 6 is a view of an upper arm swimming support in accordance withFIG. 5, drawn to scale 1:2, but for size I, intended foradults withstandard upper arm;

FIG. 7 is a view of an upper arm swimming support in accordance with theinvention according to FIG. 5, but for size ll intended for adults withstrong upper arm and for adults with the. upper arm clothed.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The upper arm swimming aid is shownat l in FIGS. 1 and 2. It consists of an inner ring part 2 and an outerring part 3, which aresuperimposed flat one on the other, when theinflatable upper arm swimming aid is not inflated. The swimming aid is,in this embodiment, made from high-frequency weldable soft PVC with athickness of 0.2 to 0.3 mm. The inner part 2 and the outer part 3 arewelded together along the edges 4. The flat hoses formed in this mannerare connected at their free ends by a weld 5.

This inflatable upper armswimming support has a length a measured in thedirection of the circumference of the support and a length b measuredalong the upper arm, double the length a being equal to thecircumference of the uninflated upper arm swimming support.

Accordingly, the diameter D resulting therefrom equals 2a/rr, and isabout twice as large as the average diameter for which this upper armswimming support is intended. However, in view of the non-inflatablearea of the upper arm swimming support, calculated further below, itshould be expressly stressed that the human arm has not, in principle, acircular cross-section, but is flattened on the inside and on theopposite outside.

This inflatable upper arm swimming support is equipped with anon-inflatable surface shown generally at 6, and having no channelsthrough which air could flow from one part of the swimming support tothe other part. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2, the weld 6,

connecting the inner part 2 with the outer part 3, isarranged on theinside 7 of the noninflatable surface, but this is not essential.

The non-inflatable surface-may be formed by the weld 4 and bycross-welds 8 and 9 which may be constructed for reliability as twoadjacent welds. The width d of non-inflatable surface 6 may be equal tothe width b of the inflatable part of the swimming support, but this isnot true for the preferred embodiments of the invention and is not shownin FIGS. 1 and 2, as explained further below. b

Naturally, this upper arm swimming support may be constructed or weldedtogether from foils in another manner, for example the two parts 2 and 3may be made from a finished extruded hose, in which case the welds 4 areomitted. From such a hose, the length of which is slightly more than theamount 2a, the flat upper arm swimming support consisting of two partsmay be constructed.

The non-inflatable surface has a length 0 in the direction a and alength d in the direction b. The magnitudes of the dimensions a, b, cand d mayvary within certain limits, but have substantially definitevalues divided into supports for children, adults, and adults with verythick upper arms or adults with clothed upper arms, as explained indetail further below. 1

Substantially diametrically opposite the noninflatable surface 6, thereis a welded seam 10 extending from one edge 4, formed more particularlyby weld-- ing, to the other edge 4, formed more particularly by welding,and forming a tight closure of the two chambers of the upper armswimmingsupport, constructed in this manner. One. chamber is formedduring the inflation of the swimming support between this weld l0 andthe left part of the non-inflatable surface 6, FIG. 2, while the otherchamber is formed between the right edge 9, FIG. 2 of the non-inflatablesurface 6 and the weld l0. v

The two separate chambers are shown at 11 and 12.

Each chamber is associated with an inflating nipple 13 which is providedwith a plug 14 and is so constructed that, with the upper arm swimmingsupport inflatecl, it can be pushed into the air filled chamber 11 or 12respectively. In addition, after removing the plug 14, the nipple isusedfor emptying the chambers 11 and 12, i.e. to allow air to escapefrom these chambers. The nipple 13 has a neck 15 with reducedcrosssection, and a cylinder 16 with larger cross-section of flexiblesoft plastic foil which enables the nipplewith its plug to be pressedinto the chambers 11 and 12 when the upper arm swimming support isinflated.

In a manner known in the art, the nipple body has a flange 17 whichenables the nipple to be welded into the outer part 3 whichhas beenprovided with a suitable opening.

The width d of the non-inflatable surface may, as already indicated, beequal to the width b of the upper arm swimming support. However, itmight be useful to have the width d of the non-inflatable surfacesmaller than the width b of the swimming support itself. This appliedparticularly to swimming supports intended for persons with thinnerupper arms, and with shorter upper arms. The recommended dimensions aregiven further below.

ln-principle, the widths b and dare defined by the length of the upperarm between the armpit and the elbow bend, while obviously a sufficientdistance must remain between the armpit and the elbow bend, so that 7the swimming motions of the swimmer are not inhibited. On the otherhand, as large a value as possible is desirable for the length b becausethis determines to a substantial degree the magnitude of the staticvolume and of the dynamic standby volume available after the inflation.For small persons and children, it is, therefore, recommended to reducethe width d of the non inflatable surface, compared with the width b ofthe remaining part of the swimming support in order to keep thenon-inflatable surface, even in the case of small persons, sufficientlyfar away from the armpit on one side, and from the elbow bend on theother side.

It is also recommended to construct the nipples in such a manner that,as known in the art, air can be exhausted through the nipple only if thepart 16 of the nipple is compressed in a certain direction, while theparts of the swimming support can be inflated without any obstruction.

Preferably, the two nipples .13, namely one each for the two chambers 11and '12, are provided at equal distances on both sides of the seam 10.However, in principle the nipples may be mounted at any point of theouter part 3 of the chambers 11 and 12. The arrangement of the nipplesnear the seam substantially in the center of the dimension b isrecommended only because the seam is on the outside of the upper arm andthe nipples can be particularly easily operated in this position forinflation and deflation.

' FIGS. 3, 4, 4a and 4b show the upper arm swimming support according tothe invention in the inflated state, in which the outer part whichbulges outwardly is tight in the center relative to the dimension b. Theedges 4 along which the non-inflatable surface 6 and the seam 10 areconnectedremain substantially unchanged in length, because the foil-mustbe regarded as being practically nonelastic. Viewed from the seams, theinner part 2 bulges evenly and forms, since the inner part has becometoo long during this bulging, shrinkage folds 18 which may continuebeyond the edges 4 to the edge zones of the outer part 3. Moreparticularly, under the action of the connecting seam 10, a deepshrinkage fold 19 forms in the zone opposite the non-inflatable surface6. I

In this fold, the inner part 2 would face the outer part 3 along a lineeven if the connecting seam 10 were not provided at all. In the absenceof the connecting seam, it may happen under certain conditions that twoadjacent folds of lesser depth are formed instead of the single deepfold 19. These deep shrinkage folds form necessarily because the innerpart 2 bulges inwardly during the inflation of the upper arm swimmingsupport, and the resulting surplus of inner foil surface must bereleased in the shape of folds. The seam l0 merely ensures the formationof a deep shrinkage fold 19, which continues to form asurface 20 acrosswhich the inner parts of the two chambers 11 and 12 face each other.

Near the non-inflatable surface 6 there forms a noninflated space 21which is not covered by the upper arm swimming support, and thecross-section of which is similar to an equilateral triangle. The baseof this triangle is formed by the non-inflatable surface 6, which mightpossibly slightly bulge inwardly while the two sides of the triangle areformed by the more or less curved surfaces 22 and 23 which extend fromthe surface 20 to the edges 8 and 9.

FIGS. 4 and 4a show that during the inflation the edges 4 bulge towardseach other, since the outer part 3 bulges outwardly and the inner part 2bulges inwardly; while the edges 4 undergo practically no expansion.Thus, the bulging of the'two parts is possible only by the inflatedswimming support having its length reduced in the direction of the widthd. However, this reduction does not take place along the seam 10, alongwhich the two parts 2 and 3 face each other, and in the zone of thenon-inflated surface 6 where the two parts. are also opposite eachother. In order to make possible the bulging of the outer part 3 towardsthe outside, and of the inner part 2 towards the inside, the seam 10 isslightly arcuate towards the inside from the edges 24, 25 andcorrespondingly the non-inflatable surface 6 slightly bulges inwardlyfrom the edges 26 and 27, as shown in FIG. 4.

The cross-section of FIG. 4a shows clearly the outward bulging of theouter part 3 and the inward bulging of the inner part 2, as well as themovement of they edges 4 towards each other, i.e. the reduction of thedistance between them, while the edges 26, 27 of the non-inflatablesurface 6 have only moved slightly towards each other because thissurface has moved slightly inwardly.

FIG. 4b shows a view of the inflated swimming sup port in the directionof the arrow IVb in FIG. 4. The length of the seam 10 between the edges24, 25 is substantially equal to the distance of edges 26, 27 of thenon-inflatable surface 6.

Owing to its curvature towards the inside, the noninflatable surface 6forms small shrinkage folds because the surface itself has norigidity,.contrary to the seam 10. These shrinkage folds are completelyeliminated when the inflated upper swimming support embraces theupperarm, the surface 6 is then only stressed in tension and cannot exert anysubstantial pressure on the inside of the upper arm.

FIG. 5 shows an inflatable upper arm swimming support of size 0 forchildren on reduced scale of 1:2. The length a is here about 230 mm, thewidth b is about 150 mm, the length c of the non-inflatable surface isabout 50 mm, and the width d of the non-inflatable surface is about mm.

FIG. 6 shows on the scale of 1:2 a similar swimming support for normaladults with unclothed upper arm. The length a is about 250 mm, and thewidth b is about 150 mm. The length c of the non-inflatable surface isabout 85 mm and the width d of the non-inflatable surface is about mm.

FIG. 7 shows on the same scale of 1:2 an upper arm swimming support foradults with particularly strong upper arms or for adults with clothedupper arms. Here, the length a is about 280 mm, and the width b is about150 mm. The length 0 of the non-inflatable surface is about 85 mm, andthe width d is about mm. In all cases, the rule applies that thenon-inflatable surface is symmetrical relative to the upper arm swimmingsupport, i.e., the dimension d is symmetrical relative to the dimensionb. r

In all embodiments, the length c of the non-inflatable surface 6 iscomparatively large compared with the length a of the swimming support.The length c is at least equal to one-fifth of the length a of theswimming support. This improves on the one hand the fitting of theinflated swimming support on the upper arm, and contributes on the otherhand to the formation of a deep shrinkage fold l9 automatically in thezone of the connecting seam 10 according to the invention.

Various other embodiments and modifications are possible withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An inflatable swimming support adapted to encircle the upper arm ofthe wearer comprising, in combination, an annular tubular member offlexible, air im pervious material defining a circumferentialconfiguration and having an axis, a circumferential noninflatablesegment of said member defining a flat noninflatable surface, thecircumferential length of said non-inflatable segment being at leastequal to one-fifth of the circumference of said member in thenoninflated state, a transversely extending air impervious member withrespect to said non-inflatable segment.

IUNI'I EDJ STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Paterxt3,775,788 f Dated December 4,1973 Inventor (s) Bernhero lf'larkwit Z T TIt is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 9; linel3, efter "of", first occurrence, insert one-half ofSi-shed aim sealed this i day'- diflflwember 1974' I (SEAL) Atteet:mecoy M. GIBSON "JR. c; MARSHALL DANN Attesting'officer Commissioner ofPatents FORM Po-wso'nmss) I 1 USCOMWDC 316m 9 ".5. GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOFFICE "I. O-JG-iSL

1. An inflatable swimming support adapted to encircle the upper arm ofthe wearer comprising, in combination, an annular tubular member offlexible, air impervious material defining a circumferentialconfiguration and having an axis, a circumferential non-inflatablesegment of said member defining a flat non-inflatable surface, thecircumferential length of said non-inflatable segment being at leastequal to one-fifth of the circumference of said member in thenon-inflated state, a transversely extending air impervious seamextending across said member transverse to the circumference thereofsubstantially parallel to said axis and diametrically located on saidmember circumference with respect to said non-inflatable segment, thetwo member portions intermediate said segment and said seam constitutinga pair of separate non-connected, inflatable chambers each having anaxial dimension greater than the axial dimension of said non-inflatablesegment, and a pair of valves mounted on said member, each valvecommunicating with a different inflatable chamber and each valve beinglocated adjacent said seam and on the opposite side of said member withrespect to said non-inflatable segment.